Tolkien (crater)

Tolkien is one of the northernmost craters on Mercury, located in the Borealis quadrangle (north pole region) at 88.82 N, 211.08 W.^[1] It is 50 km in diameter. It was named after the South African born British writer J. R. R. Tolkien. The name was approved by IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature on August 6, 2012.^[1] Since Tolkien is very close to the north pole, and Mercury has almost no axial tilt, Tolkien receives very little sunlight.^[2] S band radar data from the Arecibo Observatory collected between 1999 and 2005 indicates a radar-bright area covers the entire floor of Tolkien, which is probably indicative of a water ice deposit.^[3][4][5][6]

Tolkien

MESSENGER image with Tolkien at center. The north pole is on the rim of Tryggvadóttir, the crater at left foreground.
Planet	Mercury
Coordinates	88.82°N 211.08°W / 88.82; -211.08
Quadrangle	Borealis
Diameter	50 km
Eponym	J. R. R. Tolkien

Processed image of the northernmost part of planet Mercury: this shows the temperatures at the North Polar Region, which ranges from >400 K (red) to 50 K (purple). Tolkien is on the left of the image.

Radar-bright deposits near the north pole. Tolkien is above left of center.

See also

• List of craters on Mercury